This illustrated history portrays one of England's finest major cities and some of its county towns and villages. It provides a nostalgic look at Leicester's past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites. The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Historic England: Leicester shows the city as it once was, from its churches, parks, streets and alleyways to its Victorian mills and textile factories. Leicester has been at the very heart of the country's political and economic development for over two millennia. Evidence of Roman occupation remains at the Jewry Wall, Cardinal Wolsey lies buried in Leicester Abbey and, in 2012, the skeleton of Richard III was discovered lying beneath a car park. The city grew rapidly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the construction of the Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railway. These developments encouraged and accompanied a process of industrialisation which intensified throughout the Victorian era; hosiery, textiles, and footwear became the major industrial employers. Today, Leicester is a major distribution centre and has attracted new service and manufacturing businesses through its academic-industrial connections with the engineering departments at Leicester University, De Montfort University and nearby Loughborough University. Leicester remains one of the country's most important cities and this book will help you discover its colourful and fascinating history.

An insightful exploration of the impact of urban change on Black culture, identity, and language Across the United States, cities are changing. Gentrification is transforming urban landscapes, often pushing local Black populations to the margins. As a result, communities with rich histories and strong identities grapple with essential questions. What does it mean to be from a place in flux? What does it mean to be a specific kind of person from that place? What does gentrification mean for the fabric of a community? In The Black Side of the River, sociolinguist Jessi Grieser draws on ten years of interviews with dozens of residents of Anacostia, a historically Black neighborhood in Washington, DC, to explore these ideas through the lens of language use. Grieser finds that residents use certain speech features to create connections among racial, place, and class identities; reject negative characterizations of place from those outside the community; and negotiate ideas of belonging. In a neighborhood undergoing substantial class gentrification while remaining decisively Black, Grieser finds that Anacostians use language to assert a positive, hopeful place identity that is inextricably intertwined with their racial one. Grieser's work is a call to center Black lived experiences in urban research, confront the racial effects of urban change, and preserve the rich culture and community in historic Black neighborhoods, in Washington, DC, and beyond.

The Channel Islands have charmed visitors for centuries, and this collection of intricate illustrations is a celebration of the islands' unique appeal. Featuring a range of picturesque vistas from Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark, scenes include sandy beaches, walking trails along cliffs and beautiful inland valleys, to scenic towns and defensive castles that have remained relatively unchanged for centuries. Each stunning scene is full of intriguing detail sure to fi re the imagination and make you reach for your colouring pencils. There are absolutely no rules - you can choose any combination of colours you like to bring these wonderful images to life. Suitable for children. If you love the Channel Islands, then you will love colouring them in!

Southend-on-Sea has gone through many transformations since its birth in the Middle Ages when a settlement of farmers and fishermen was established at the southernmost end of the lands of Prittlewell Priory. Having acquired the name 'South End', the area changed when the Lord of the Manor in the eighteenth century had a 'New Town' built along the cliffs to the west. The arrival of the railway in the mid-nineteenth century, and the subsequent influx of seaside day trippers, boosted Southend's popularity and it quickly expanded into a large and bustling town. In this fascinating photographic history, Ken Crowe takes a fond look at his home town, exploring the changes to its streets through carefully chosen snapshots of Southend-on-Sea as it was in the past and is today.

In an exciting departure from the Road to Glory script, Jeremy Daniel captures a single thrilling sporting moment in each of the lives of 20 South African sports stars.

Lungi Ngidi (Cricket); Quinton de Kock (Cricket); Akani Simbine (Sprinting); Faf de Klerk (Rugby); Ernst van Dyk (Wheelchair racing); Luvo Manyonga (Long jump); Kevin Anderson (Tennis); Cheslin Kolbe (Rugby); Chad le Clos (Swimming); Percy Tau (Soccer); Louis Oosthuizen (Golf); Lucas Radebe (Soccer); Josia Thugwane (Long-distance runner); Bongiwe Msomi (Netball); Caster Semanya (Athletics); Janine van Wyk (Women's soccer); Sunette Viljoen (Cricketer turned javelin thrower); Tatjana Schoenmaker (Swimming).

For over four centuries, California has been an ever-changing landscape of innovation and revolution, triumph and tragedy. In Fascinating True Tales from Old California, author Colleen Adair Fliedner mines the history of the Golden State to collect more than fifty tales of famous Californians and their escapades from 1542 through 1940. For many, like James Lick, Leland Stanford, and John Downey, California was a place to strike it rich. Others sought freedom and a new beginning, including Chinese immigrants and African Americans, like philanthropist and freed slave, Biddy Mason. And still some characters just wanted to live their lives outside of society's rules, like swindler James Reavis or the cross-dressing stagecoach driver, Charley Parkhurst. Readers will be entertained and enlightened as they take a trip through California's colorful past.

For a country with a relatively small population, Scotland has had a massive impact on the world. This intriguing miscellany uncovers the culture surrounding its shores, and celebrates the many characters, legends, firsts and inventions that have shaped the country's rich and majestic history. This eye opening collection of trivia will enlighten you on many of the myths surrounding Scotland. Bagpipes, tartan and haggis are all archetypal images of Scotland, and yet none of them likely originated here. Clan wars, family feuds, invasions and battles are just some of the historical subjects divulged in this fascinating miscellany. Scots have also helped to create modern life, with innovators ushering in the Industrial Revolution, medical breakthroughs, not forgetting the Scottish engineers famed across the globe. Along the way you will also find entries on the food, the sporting heritage and darker tales of murder most foul. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.

The south of Scotland has a long and turbulent geological past. Perhaps most notably, it marks the place where, 432 million years ago, an ocean, once as wide as the north Atlantic, was compressed by a convergence of ancient lands and then ceased to be. Deserts covered the land with thick layers of brick-red coloured rocks, known as the Old Red Sandstone, piled up and dumped by rivers and streams that crisscrossed the area. Around 432 million years ago, violent explosive volcanic activity gave rise to the prominent landscape features recognised today as the Eildon Hills. In later geological times, the area was blanketed with massive sand dunes, later compressed to create the building stones from which Dumfries, Glasgow and other towns and cities, were constructed. It is also the place where the modern science of geology was born. James Hutton, star of the Scottish Enlightenment, found inspiration from his study of the local rocks. Sites he described almost 250 years ago are still hailed as amongst the most historic and important rock exposures to be found anywhere in the world.

How much do you know about Scottish history? We all know bits of it. This book by the authors of Scottish History: Strange but True sets out to show how these 'bits' fit together - how the characters and events of Scottish history made the country of Scotland. We do not ponder 'WHY?' we demand 'HOW?' How was Scotland founded by refugees? How did the Vikings make Scotland happen? How did King David save Scotland AND give it away? How did Robert the Bruce forget Scottish history? How did a King of Scots declare war on Scotland? How did the Jacobites win every round, yet get smashed in the final - twice? How did Scotland embrace kilts and tartan after it banned them?

On 16 August 2012, the South African police shot dead thirty-four men and injured hundreds more, bringing to an end a week-long strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana. None of the murdered people posed a threat to any police officer. Existing studies of this nation-shaping and internationally significant event have often overlooked the experiences and perspectives of the striking miners themselves. Now, for the first time, the men’s lives – and deaths – are put at the centre of the story.

Placing the strike in the context of South Africa’s long history of racial and economic exclusion, explaining how the miners came to be in Marikana, how their lives were ordinarily lived and the substance of their complaints, Julian Brown shows how the strike developed from an initial gathering into a mass movement of more than 3,000 workers. Drawing on interviews with strikers and their families, he tells the stories of those who embarked on the strike, those who were killed, and the attempts of the families of the deceased to identify and bury their dead.

Brown also provides a comprehensive review of the subsequent Commission of Inquiry and points to the politics of solidarity with the Marikana miners that have emerged since.

This long-overdue popular history explores the cultural heritage and identity of Lancashire. Paul Salveson traces to the thirteenth century the origins of a distinct county stretching from the Mersey to the Lake District--'Lancashire North of the Sands'. From a relatively backward place in terms of industry and learning, Lancashire would become the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution: the creation of a self- confident bourgeoisie drove economic growth, and industrialists had a strong commitment to the arts, endowing galleries and museums and producing a diverse culture encompassing science, technology, music and literature. Lancashire developed a distinct business culture, its shrine being the Manchester Cotton Exchange, but this was also the birthplace of the world co-operative movement, and the heart of campaigns for democracy including Chartism and women's suffrage. Lancashire has generally welcomed incomers, who have long helped to inform its distinctive identity: fourteenth-century Flemish weavers; nineteenth-century Irish immigrants and Jewish refugees; and, more recently, New Lancastrians from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The book explores what has become of Lancastrian culture, following modern upheavals and Lancashire's fragmentation compared with its old rival Yorkshire. What is the future for the 6 million people of this rich historic region?

In Downtown, Pete Hamill leads us on an unforgettable journey through the city he loves, from the island's southern tip to Times Square, combining a moving memoir of his days and nights in New York with a passionate history of its most enduring places and people.

The old kingdom of Gwynedd - the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia), Ynys (Anglesey) and the Llyn Peninsula - may be the most mythic landscape in Britain. The ancient Druids and from it sprang the tales of Blessed Bran who protected the land, wizards who made a Woman of Flowers, and Merlin the dragon whisperer whose prophecy echoes still. The poet Taliesin walked these hills, Welsh bards told stories of Arthur by these hearths and saints made pilgrimages along these paths. From these hidden nooks the Tylwyth Teg (Fair Folk) emerged to tease the people, and through these mountain passes rode Llywelyn the Great and Owain Glyndw r, living lives that would be spun into legend. Storyteller and singer Eric Maddern has gathered these old tales here and breathed fresh life into them.

This book, a selection of folk tales, true tales, tall tales, myths, gossip, legends and memories, celebrates and honours unique Welsh stories. Some are well known, others from forgotten manuscripts or out-of-print volumes, and some are contemporary oral tales. They reflect the diverse tradition of storytelling, and the many meanings of 'chwedlau'. If someone says, 'Chwedl Cymraeg?' they are asking, 'Do you speak Welsh?' and 'Do you tell a tale in Welsh?' Here is the root of storytelling, or 'chwedleua', in Wales. It is part of conversation. This book, one to linger over and to treasure, keeps these ancient tales alive by retelling them for a new audience.

Leicester is an old town with a long history reaching back across two thousand years of human activity and experience. Historically, it is a very well-documented town. Leicester has a rich antiquarian record with plenty of other writings and documents that add to our knowledge of how our predecessors lived and, just as importantly, what they experienced during their lives. This book details the various hauntings and lore of Leicester; from the malevolent Black Annis to the debated involvement of medium Robert James Lees in the case of Jack the Ripper. It concludes with a guided tour of all the mentioned locations.

The Essex coastline has endured invasion by plundering and bloodthirsty Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and this mysterious landscape is still haunted by their presence. Their spirits, and countless others, have oft been reported - not least by smugglers determined to keep intruders away from their secret hideouts. Even more dramatic stories of the supernatural lurk inland: accusations of witchcraft have been screamed around many picturesque market towns, dragons have terrorised the community, and a violent White Lady has struck at Hadleigh Castle. Indeed, it is the women of Essex who have stirred the imagination most - from brave Boudicca and beautiful Edith Swan-neck to the adulteress Kitty Canham. Amid the county's infamous pirates, highwaymen and desperados, Essex can even boast a lady smuggler.

A beautifully illustrated introduction to mudlarking which tells the incredible, forgotten history of London through objects found on the foreshore of the River Thames. Often seen combing the shoreline of the River Thames at low tide, groups of archaeology enthusiasts known as 'mudlarks' continue a tradition that dates back to the eighteenth century. Over the years they have found a vast array of historical artefacts providing glimpses into the city's past. Objects lost or discarded centuries ago - from ancient river offerings such as the Battersea Shield and Waterloo Helmet, to seventeenth-century trade tokens and even medals for bravery - have been discovered in the river. This book explores a fascinating assortment of finds from prehistoric to modern times, which collectively tell the rich and illustrious story of London and its inhabitants - illustrated with and array of photographs taken of the items in situ in the mud and gravel of the Thames estuary, at the same time both gritty and glimmering.

Discover hidden gems around Birmingham with 20 walking routes. Featuring 20 walks in and around the city, including lesser-known circuits and details on popular walks. Accompanied by guided walking instructions and written by local experts, A-Z Birmingham Hidden Walks is the perfect way to explore the city in a new light. Small enough to fit in a bag or pocket, this handy guidebook is ideal for tourists or locals looking to discover more about the city. Each route varies in length from 1 to 6 miles (1.6 to 9.6 km), and is clearly outlined on detailed A-Z street mapping. * 20 walking routes with instructions and maps * Full-colour photographs of hidden gems and city attractions * Key sights and locations clearly marked on map * Information such as start/finish points, nearest postcodes, distance and terrain included More from the A-Z Hidden Walks series: A-Z Birmingham Hidden Walks A-Z Bristol & Bath Hidden Walks A-Z Edinburgh Hidden Walks A-Z London Hidden Walks A-Z Oxford Hidden Walks A-Z York Hidden Walks A-Z Brighton Hidden Walks A-Z Cambridge Hidden Walks A-Z Manchester Hidden Walks A-Z Liverpool Hidden Walks

For the first six centuries from the institution's foundation, Latin was the language spoken and written at the University of Oxford. It's no surprise, then, to find that the inscriptions carved into the monuments, colleges and municipal buildings of the city are for the most part also in Latin. It is also a language which lends itself to compression, so an inscription in Latin uses fewer characters than English, for example, saving space and money. But what do they all mean? For this book Reginald Adams has assembled, translated and explained a wide selection of Oxford's Latin inscriptions (and a few Greek ones). These can be found in many accessible places in both city and university, dating from the medieval period to the present day. Their purposes range from tributes and memorials to decorations and witty commentaries on the edifice that they adorn. The figures commemorated include Queen Anne, Roger Bacon, Cardinal Wolsey, Cecil Rhodes, T. E. Lawrence and a kind landlady who provided 'enormous breakfasts', as well as other eminent scholars and generous benefactors. These evocative mementos of the past bring insight to the informed observer of their surroundings and also vividly illustrate the history of Oxford.